Crypto exchange Binance has recommended its European users to convert their Euro (EUR) balances into Tether (USDT) before October 31, following the loss of support from its banking partner, Paysafe. The announcement came on Thursday, when Binance stated that Paysafe had "unilaterally decided to stop processing EUR deposits for Binance users."
In a statement released by Binance, the exchange noted that users can continue to withdraw their EUR balances from their accounts to their respective banks. However, from September 28, Paysafe users were no longer able to trade EUR spot trading pairs, and open orders were cancelled an hour later. Binance Convert, a token swap service, also became restricted for EUR transactions.
The decision from Paysafe followed its suspension of Euro deposits on September 25. Previously, the firm had facilitated fiat deposits and withdrawals for Binance users in Europe, including bank transfers within the EU’s Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Paysafe had also ceased GBP transactions in May due to regulatory concerns raised by U.K. financial regulators.
This latest development adds to a series of regulatory and debanking challenges faced by Binance in Western countries. In June, the exchange announced its exit from the Netherlands and was ordered by Belgian officials to halt its services within a week. Yet on September 26, it was reported that Binance had reopened new registrations for Belgian residents.
In addition to the termination of the Paysafe partnership, Binance is dealing with legal issues from American oversight commissions and negative views expressed by more European regulators about its operations. Despite these challenges, Binance assures it is working on integrating new fiat channels onto its platform soon.
While Binance is facing regulatory challenges in some European countries, it is also making strategic moves elsewhere. The exchange recently announced it is exiting Russia and selling its business to the newly established exchange CommEX. Around the same time, Binance resumed its operations in Belgium by transferring its Belgian clients to Poland, taking advantage of European Union laws that allow the exchange to manage clients' accounts and provide services from a registered entity in another country.
In other news, Binance is participating in a project to create Japan's stablecoin and accelerate the adoption of Web3 in that region, with the local stablecoin market expected to reach $34 billion.
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